Kings' Peter Budaj: Struggles continue in loss to Coyotes

Budaj saved just 17 of 21 shots in Thursday's 5-3 loss to Arizona.

Analysis:

Budaj was outplayed by Coyotes counterpart Mike Smith, who made 41 saves to hold off the Kings' comeback bid. The Czech veteran has hit the skids of late, allowing 16 goals in his past four starts. He's done much better than expected filling in for the injured Jonathan Quick (groin), but Budaj might be starting to run out of gas after playing just 55 NHL games over the previous five seasons combined.